Slicers impress Michigan coaches

September 03, 2006|BOB OPPENHEIM Tribune Staff Writer

DOWAGIAC -- After Saturday's performance at the Edwardsburg Invitational, the boys cross country team in LaPorte has the respect of Michigan high schools. That admiration could be heard from Plainwell boys cross country coach Irv Figel as he looked at the final results. "They are very, very talented," said Figel. "I'm going to look at the state championship results in Indiana." LaPorte's boys claimed first place with 16 points, outdistancing second place Sturgis with 36. "We've normally not run on this weekend," said Slicers coach Tim Beresm. "We were just looking to get the kids an extra meet to compete in. We wanted to keep a progression going and keep the kids fresh racing. We were happy to be up here. It's a beautiful course." It was the second time in three weeks that LaPorte had run at the new Dowagiac Middle School course. The Slicer boys placed second to Fort Wayne Northrop at the Niles Stampede two weeks ago. LaPorte's girls were pretty good as well Saturday, winning with 29 points, and edging second place Cedar Springs by two points. "It's almost like we need to change to a 5K down in Indiana," said LaPorte girls cross country coach Starr Rice. "I think we're better at those than a 4K. "I especially, had really good races out of my freshmen and sophomores. My juniors and seniors felt a little pressure and they stepped up and responded to it." LaPorte had five boys finish in the top 15. Leading the way were Mike Fout (first), Kiel Lovekin (fourth) and Matt Miller (fifth). Fout, who finished with a personal best of 15:07, had a big lead at the finish. "I led most of the way," said Fout. "At the start, everybody takes it out fast. There was a decent number of kids around me at the 1k mark. I'm glad that they did that because it gives me a chance to run with somebody in the race and gives me a little push. I separated before the first mile." In the boys race, Sturgis got a sixth place finish from Austin Brown and an eighth place finish from Will Dresser. Kyle Banish placed ninth for Berrien Springs and Jake Roberts placed 12th for Edwardsburg. In the girls race, LaPorte got a fifth place time from Becca Kuehn and a ninth from Gabby Webber. Sturgis got a third place finish from Alev Keyser, an eighth from Ruthie Sloan and a 10th from Brittany Jansen. Saturday's invitational was the second ever high school cross country meet held at the Dowagiac Middle School Course. "It's a flat course with fast trails and moderate hills," said meet director Ron Gunn. "It's faster than the college course (Southwestern Michigan). There are steep hills at the college." Fout gave his impression of the course. "A lot of the first (kilometer) is downhill," Fout said. "You definitely get some help from the trails. But, there are some decent sized hills in there. You've just got to push through it. I don't know if I would say that the course is super fast. I definitely wouldn't say that it was slow." BOYS RESULTSTEAM SCORES: LAPORTE 16, STURGIS 36, BANGOR 39, CEDAR SPRINGS 55, DELTON KELLOGG 70, MENDON 88, PLAINWELL 97, COLDWATER 100, NILES 123, DOWAGIAC 131, BERRIEN SPRINGS 146, WATERVLIET 221, MARCELLUS HOWARDSVILLE 226, PAW PAW 246, BRANDYWINE AND CASSOPOLIS DIDN'T SCOREAt Edwardsburg Top 15 individuals: 1. Mike Fout (LaPorte) 15:07; 2. Mate Knisely (Coldwater) 16:03; 3. Tyler Emmorey (Cedar Springs) 16:15; 4. Kiel Lovekin (LaPorte) 16:37; 5. Matt Miller (LaPorte) 16:48; 6. Austin Brown (Sturgis) 16:50; 7. Andrew Fuentes (Bangor) 16:55; 8. Will Dresser (Sturgis) 17:02; 9. Kyle Banish (Berrien Springs) 17:08; 10. Jake Hojnacki (LaPorte) 17:17; 11. Zach Mills (Coldwater) 17:20; 12. Jake Roberts (Edwardsburg) 17:26; 13. Justin Durbin (Delton Kellogg) 17:31; 14. Andy Barrus (Sturgis) 17:34; 15. Tyler Toll (LaPorte) 17:39. GIRLS RESULTSTEAM SCORES: LAPORTE 29, CEDAR SPRINGS 31, STURGIS 34, VICKSBURG 54, PLAINWELL 56, DELTON KELLOGG 58, COLDWATER 75, NILES 95, BANGOR 127, EDWARDSBURG 131, PAW PAW 147, BERRIEN SPRINGS 153, BRANDYWINE, CASSOPOLIS, DOWAGIAC, MARCELLUS HOWARDSVILLE, MENDON AND WATERVLIET DIDN'T SCOREAt Edwardsburg Top 15 individuals: 1. Molly Waterhouse (Vicksburg) 19:40; 2. Katy Cramer (Cedar Springs) 20:19; 3. Alev Keyser (Sturgis) 20:39; 4. Lisa Muller (Plainwell) 20:44; 5. Becca Kuehn (LaPorte) 20:58; 6. Kate Brundige (Vicksburg) 21:10; 7. Meagan Neary (Coldwater) 21:23; 8. Ruthie Sloan (Sturgis) 21:41; 9. Gabby Weber (LaPorte) 21:52; 10. Brittany Jansen (Sturgis) 21:58; 11. Kristin Heator (Coldwater) 22:00; 12. Nicole Komasinski (LaPorte) 22:04; 13. Rachel Davis (Plainwell) 22:05; 14. Mandy Dye (Delton Kellogg) 22:06; 15. Chelsea Holicki (Coldwater) 22:08.